F1 Visa interview – Training yourself to make eye contact – Part 2

In our last post we reviewed some basic tips to get yourself more comfortable making eye contact for F1 interview. These tips included:

Practice making eye contact with yourself in a mirror.

Practice making eye contact with a friend for a long period of time.

Practice making eye contact with someone older that you respect.

The goal of these practices was to get you more comfortable with the idea of making eye contact. However, F1 Visa interview is a much different experience. Rather than meeting with a friend, you are going to be meeting with a stranger in a position of authority. You will likely be nervous and uncomfortable. That discomfort can make it harder to maintain eye contact. Below are some helpful strategies to improve eye contact during F1 Visa.

F1 Visa Strategies through Eye Contact

Make Eye Contact with Strangers on the Street

Another helpful tip is to hold your head up and be willing to make eye contact with strangers. As you are walking along the street, look at the people walking by you. They will no doubt notice your glance and look up at you, forcing eye contact. Rather than look away, smile and keep walking. See if you can make eye contact without glancing away with as many as 10 strangers in a row.

Check Out the Middle of the Forehead

You do not always have to be making direct eye contact. You can also look in between the eyes of the VO, at the skin just above the nose. This gives the impression that you are making eye contact when in reality you are not. You still need to practice eye contact, because it is very difficult to avoid making direct eye contact on occasion when you are looking in between someone’s eyes. However, when you need a few moments, you can look between the eyes and still have the same effect. This strategy is more effective if you are really a shy student and going for F1 interview.

Making eye contact with strangers, and learning to switch between eyes and the forehead are all great ways to practice eye contact for your F1 visa interview and improve your chances of stamping.

Take Away Interview Tips

Practice eye contact with strangers.

Remember to look between the fore head when you need a break in order to maintain eye contact without actually looking directly into their eyes.